


Cardinal Rules

by st4rlabsforever (omaken)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: "The Universe Wants Us To Be Bros", Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-15 04:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7207811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omaken/pseuds/st4rlabsforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cait looked so disappointed, and Iris, to her credit, refrained from saying anything at all, instead giving Cisco a look that said she was so, one hundred percent done with his and Barry’s antics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cardinal Rules

Cisco learned the cardinal rule in his friendship with Barry very early on: don’t start the tickle fights.

Not that that was something he did very often, but they’d been chilling in the Cortex after a long week, an episode of _Star Trek_ going as they nursed their beers. Of course, there’d been some horsing around -- it was just that kind of friendship. Barry was a pretty tactile guy, which was something that Cisco wasn’t really used to, but hey, he’d rolled with it.

So, he’d poked Barry in the sides and gotten a squeal out of him, which: hilarious.

Until he saw the smirk Barry was giving him.

He’d barely had a moment to think before Barry was on him, fingers skittering over every inch of Cisco’s body. And Cisco _really_ hadn’t considered the ramifications of super speed tickling before, but it was horrid. He’d known Barry was a pretty competitive guy, and coupled with that cockiness that came out whenever Barry went out of his way to taunt a bank robber, well...it was definitely the fastest Cisco had ever regretted doing something.

From then on, it was just something Barry did on occasion -- usually when he thought Cisco needed cheering up, but sometimes as a prank, too. And Cisco always ended up in a better mood afterwards, it was just that it was so, _so_ unfair (Barry had called it using his ‘natural talents’ to the best of his ability).

None of the others were safe either. Iris, Cait, and even Wally had all been on the receiving end of one of Barry’s tickle attacks at some point or another, and try as they might to get their revenge, one-upping a speedster was nigh on impossible.

Until now.

Cisco had the hopes of the entire team resting on his shoulders, and he couldn’t say it wasn’t fairly nerve-wracking; he knew what Barry would have in store for him if he failed. Wally gave him some gentle words of encouragement. Cait and Iris just looked on with steely determination (which: Cisco made a mental note to never ever get on both of their bad sides at the same time, because it was absolutely terrifying).

Deep breath.

He could do this.

Barry was perched over one of the computers by the central console, still in the suit as he checked the output of the metahuman alert app. Sneaking up on him was the easy part, distracted as Barry was. Cisco gave him a gentle poke in the ribs to get the ball rolling.

And Barry yelped, startled before whipping his head around to find the source of his laughter. “So that’s how it is, huh?” And then he was full-on smirking. A pitying, condescending smirk, probably because he thought Cisco was a goner. Hell, if this didn’t work, Cisco _would be_ a goner. Still, though, Cisco resented that stupid smirk.

Barry made a show of cracking his knuckles, and let a bit of lightning trail of his fingers, mostly just because he could. “You sure you wanna do this, Cisco?” He could be an ass sometimes, but at least he was an adorable ass.

Cisco braced himself and held a hand out in front of him. The tell-tale crackle of electricity told him that Barry had made his move, but the lightning fizzled out and Barry was staring at him, perplexed.

“Wh-what,” he struggled to get the words out around his laughter, “wh-what are you d-doing?”

Cisco grinned.

And Barry tried dashing forward again, but the lightning crackled and sputtered, mostly on account of him doubling over with laughter, too distracted to make his move.

Through it all, Barry just looked so adorably confused. “H-how…?”

“I got the idea from Reverb, actually,” Cisco said, because he couldn’t help gloating a little. “Remember the whole ‘ _I will shatter your entire nervous system without breaking a sweat_ ’ thing?”

Not that Cisco would ever consider doing something like that, but the concept behind it gave him some ideas. Barry didn’t respond, though, and Cisco hadn’t expected him too, given that he was currently laughing himself hoarse on the floor.

“Well, that got me thinking. Vibrations. Nervous system. Nerves. Tickling. Is it working?” Cisco asked smugly, fingers still splayed out in front of him to keep the vibrations going. Heh. Look ma, no hands. He felt a bit like a supervillain giving his monologue. _Mwahaha?_

“Dude…” Barry managed to get out through the giggles, “don’t do this.”

Iris already had out her phone, recording the entire ordeal for blackmail. She’d probably follow it through with an article in CCPN, too.

“C-come onnn, Cisco.” Cisco had to strain his ears to pick out the words between the bouts of laughter. “Truce? We’d be unstoppable together.”

“Cisco…” Iris admonished.

But Cisco had let up on the vibrations a bit, and then he’d made the fatal mistake of looking straight into the puppy dog eyes that Barry was giving him.

Iris smacked Cisco on the shoulder. “I told you not to make eye contact!”

Easy for Iris to say. She’d practically had an entire lifetime to build up an immunity to those pleading doe eyes, but Cisco had only had two years, and he’d never once been able to say no to Barry in that time. Not when he gave Cisco that frowny, puppy dog look.

“Please…?” Barry said earnestly. He even did that pout with his lower lip for maximum effect.

Andddd just like that, Cisco felt the last of his resistance melting away. He sighed, reached down, and helped pull Barry to his feet. It was all a bit surreal. He felt like Luke when Vader tried to seduce him to the Dark Side, except for the minor oversight where Cisco joined him. 

“Thanks, bro.” Barry beamed, then turned his attention to the others, taut muscles that promised doom and gloom rippling under the suit.

“Guys…? What’s happening?” Wally asked, frightened.

Cait looked _so_ disappointed, and Iris, to her credit, refrained from saying anything at all, instead giving Cisco a look that said she was so, one hundred percent done with his and Barry’s antics.

Barry gave Cisco’s shoulder a light squeeze. “Ready when you are.”

Cisco only sighed again. He was _definitely_ going to be on both Iris and Cait’s shit lists tomorrow. “I’m ready.”

“Run!” Wally shouted as he hightailed it out of the Cortex.


End file.
